Draco looked up by the sound of a familiar voice, and smiled warmly when he saw that Harry had arrived. He closed his notebook and put it away, together with his pen, so he could turn his full attention to Harry instead. That would be the polite thing, seeing as he was the one to invite him out."Harry," he greeted with a wide grin, as he get up from his chair to properly greet him. He gently placed either hand on Harry's upper arms, and leant in to give two quick kisses on either of Harry's cheeks, before leaning away and letting go of Harry again. "Glad you could make it," he said, and his smile would tell you that he genuinely meant it. He really was pleased to see Harry again, and was really looking forward to catching up with him. "I am sorry for being so rude as to order before you got here, but I was early, and I didn't know how long you would be."

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

It was almost impressive how quickly Draco could overwhelm Harry, and for the solid 20 that had passed from the moment Draco had spoke to him, Harry was practically breathless. Draco's touch made a chill run down Harry's spine, and the brief moments his lips grazed his skin the chill was replaced with heat. Harry was absolutely terrified he was blushing, and by the time Draco once again was on a distance, Harry couldn't keep a flustered, boyish smile off his lips; Draco was absolutely stunning and Harry was so attracted to him the kisses almost felt painfully hot against his skin."No, don't worry about it," Harry eventually managed to say, quickly moving his eyes to the cup on the table, while he gingerly laid his scarf across the back of the chair that stood across from the one Draco had been sitting in. "I'm late anyway," Harry apologised, but his head was still spinning from the kiss, and he had no real sense of whether that was actually true or not.

Draco checked the watch hanging around his wrist, as he sat back down. A small frowns appeared on his forehead at the comment. "I mean yeah, technically you are two minutes late, but I can let that slide," he said with a soft shake of his head, before grabbing his cup, and warming his hands on it, despite not being cold. He took a careful sip from the latte, not wanting to burn his tongue on the hot drink, but wanting the caffeine kick."You should go get something to drink, I'll watch your stuff," he suggested in a soft tone, looking up at Harry with a warm smile.

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind, Harry really appreciated Draco's direct, concrete suggestions; it made the situation easier to break down in accomplishable parts."Right," Harry nodded, his eyes still lingering upon Draco's cup, and as the other moved it to his lips, Harry's eyes followed until he met Draco's eyes (not before lingering a moment or two on Draco's lips, that is). When eye contact was once again established, Harry's features lit up in another little smile, before nodding a final, agreeing time."I'll be right back, then," he said, before finally looking away, casting a glance towards the disk, while simultaneously patting his pocket to make sure he was his wallet there. Once everything checked out, he sent Draco another glance and a smile, before walking away from the table and towards the disk.

Draco took another sip from his latte, and watched Harry as he went to get some coffee as well. He was very excited about the prospect of spending an afternoon in Harry's company, and he really hoped that he hasn't misjudged their relation completely, and they would have to spend all the time in silence. The coffee shop was fairly empty, as it usually was on this time of the day. There was a couple sitting at the back of the coffee shop, obviously more engrossed in each other than the world around them, and a girl with a computer and tons of books sitting near the counter. The coffee shop was manned by a lone girl in an apron, and Draco has seen her read under the counter when she didn't have anything to do. It was peaceful, and it was the reason Draco really likes coming there. Nobody bothered him there, and he could get all the writing he needed done.

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

As Harry stood and waited for his order he couldn't help but notice the calm in the coffee shop. Sure, it wasn't full, but of the people there Harry seemed to be the only one to notice Draco's presence; to Harry, Draco looked out of place in these common surroundings.It was only when the barista once again demanded his attention by giving him his order that Harry noticed that his eyes had been lingering on Draco, and that realisation once again made Harry's cheek feel warm.He muttered his thanks before taking the cup of black coffee and once again walking towards Draco.In a matter of a few seconds Harry's glasses started to fog up, and by the time he sat at the table, and the angle and distance to the cup changed, he quickly had to give up. "Um," Harry started when he took of his glasses, inattentively rubbing at the inner corners of his eyes at the change of focus. "Your manager seems nice."He couldn't gather hos thoughts around a subject more complicated than that, and by the time he let his hand fall, a crooked smile had appeared on his lips.

Draco was puzzled by the words for a moment, before he remembered the call he had gotten from Hermione about Harry's call. He would probably never get used to someone being his manager, or it not being his own number on his card, but at least Hermione was handling it nicely. "Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry about that," he says with a sheepish grin, unsure of what else to say. "I keep forgetting that it's her number, and not mine, that is on my card," he added, knowing that that probably sounds odd, but that is his life. Most of it just sounds weird to people who are not doing something similar. "At least I had mentioned you to her, so the call didn't take her completely by surprise."

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

Harry had no idea how to react to that, and for a moment, he must have looked as surprised as he felt. The fact that Draco had mentioned him to anybody felt absolutely surreal and Harry tried not to read unnecessarily into it."No, don't worry, I was just, uh, surprised," Harry exhaled, lowering his gaze to the cup before him. In reality, Harry had been absolutely startled by the sound of a woman's voice and he had nearly hung up in embarrassment; for a moment, it seemed more likely that Draco had intentionally given him a wrong number, than the woman being related to Draco.

Draco nodded softly at that, taking another sip from his latte. It was understandable that Harry had gotten surprised by getting in touch with a woman, and not Draco, but he was happy that they managed to work it out anyway. It was honestly just really nice to see Harry again, and he was happy that he had spotted him on the tube."I know that she sounds tough, but she is really a sweetheart. She just has to be tough to the people calling that number, otherwise I would be completely overbooked at all times," he explained, not really sure why he felt like defending Hermione. He didn't even think that she was rude to Harry, but he knew how intimidating she could be, and he would rather not Harry think that she was like that all the time.

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

Harry quickly became flustered by that response, and for a moment he seemed genuinely afraid of having overstepped; Harry had only said two sentences total, and still it felt like he had managed to start the afternoon off on the wrong foot."No, gosh, she was very nice, it wasn't that-" Harry stuttered under his breath, awkwardly shifting his position on the chair. His eyes were fixated on his untouched cup of coffee and his vision was blurring up by the steam.

Draco smiled at how much Harry stuttered, finding it more than a little endearing. Sure, he didn't want Harry to feel nervous around him, but he also knew that people tended to be like that around famous people, so he decided not to think too much of it. He just appreciated getting to see Harry again, even if it wasn't as natural as he could have hoped. "You don't have to lie. I know that she is strict," he said with a warm smile, wanting Harry to feel comfortable about this. He knows that Hermione can be very scary, especially over the phone, but he hopes that Harry caught her on a good day. "But now you have my actual number, so we no longer have to go through her."

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

That statement made Harry look up at Draco, the surprise he felt upon hearing that projected on his features. "Yeah, I guess," he answered, not sure what else to say about it. It felt like Draco was implying that there was to be further contact between them, and the thought made Harry's heart flutter; finally, several seconds after speaking, a grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. Slightly taken aback by everything, Harry just looked at Draco with a soft smile on his lips."So, how are things?" he eventually asked, when he realised his silence had become awkward. He lowered his eyes towards the cup, and finally gripping it with some determination. "I mean, besides whats covered by the media," he added softly, unsure if that was too personal for him to be asking, before finally taking a sip of his quickly cooling coffee.

Draco shrugged at the, putting his, now empty, cup on the table between them, as he leant back against the back of his chair. There wasn't a lot of things going on in his life, other than the usual things, but he knew that Harry probably would find those exciting anyway. Of course, he had things that he couldn't tell Harry, but there was a lot of things he could easily share, without having to fear Harry accidentally knowing something he shouldn't."Things are good. I am still working on my new album, but I am liking how it's coming out," he admitted. It felt a little intimate to be talking about his music with Harry, but he knew that most people had heard it anyway, so he should probably get used to it. "Going on a talk show to talk about it a little tomorrow, so that is gonna be exciting."

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

"Oh, wow," Harry exhaled as he put the cup back down on the table. He didn't really know why that answer felt as unexpected as it did; if he had stopped to think, he would assume things like albums and talk shows were what Draco considered every day stuff, but to Harry it felt important in a way he couldn't come close to relating to."That sounds like a big deal," he continued softly, fidgetting slightly with his coffee cup. Harry knew from a first hand basis that people had waited a long time for Draco to publish his upcoming album, and getting to hear him talk about it (even if it was just a small remark) made the hairs on Harry's neck stand.It was a silly, childish reaction, and as soon as it caught up to him, he once again glanced down towards his cup. "Tomorrow I've got parent-teacher conferences," he said, a laugh in his voice. It was hard not to be humoured by the stark contrast there was between their lives, and when Harry's eyes once again met Draco's, a crooked grin appeared on his lips. "So something a bit different."

Draco hadn't tried to sound impressive, but he realised that it probably seemed like it, once he saw how Harry reacted. It was just a part of his life after all, but he knew that it was far from what other people were used to. Instead, he leant forward when Harry started talking about his own life, wanting to know as much about it as possible."It's no big deal," he said with a soft wave of his hand, dismissing the entire thing easily. In the end, he was way more interested in what Harry wanted to share with him. "Just a small appearance. How are parent-teacher conferences though? I can imagine that some parents are completely unreasonable. How do you even deal with that?" He asked, still leaning forward, and looking at Harry.

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

Once again, Harry was startled by the interest Draco showed in his life and Draco's proximity; now that they were both leaning slightly forward, there was only a few feet between them."Um, some are," Harry finally managed to say. Completely distracted by the new details that had become visible on Draco's features, Harry had to lean back a bit in order to be able to focus on the conversation. "But I work at a public school, so most aren't as entitled as I imagine they could be at a private school."The soft smile that accompanied that was almost apologetic, as Harry once again felt like he had confirmed how average his life was. "It was worse when I had just started; the parents trust my judgement better now that I've been there for a couple of years," he eventually continued, almost in an attempt to lighten his own mood as a small grin had made its way to his voice. "I think its ageism, though, because they are very nice when I'm unshaven and look 35."

Draco nodded at that, being able to imagine that fairly easily. After all, people wanted their children's teachers to have a lot of experience, even if teachers couldn't very well get experience without teaching. He knew that his father had been guilty of this, and he felt sorry for Harry. No one deserved to get that kind of treatment, even if parents wanted the best for their children. "I can only imagine," he stated with a warm smile, wanting to comfort Harry somehow. He didn't know why, but he was certain that Harry was a great teacher. He had always been good with the younger students back when they were in school, and it was nice to know that it was something he had pursued. "I doubt that you have anything to worry about though. I mean, I am certain that you are a great teacher."

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

The compliment completely caught Harry off guard, and for a moment or two, he just looked at the other in flustered amazement. Harry rarely received any compliments regarding his work, and as everything once again caught up with him, his first instinct was to argue against it. Sure, he wasn't terrible, but Draco had no way of knowing, which just made things much more overwhelming; what was an compliment to his work was actually based on him as a person."Thank you," was eventually his response. He had heard Ginny's voice in his mind repeatly cussing him out about learning to take a compliment, but despite having his in mind when speaking, his voice still came out giddy, a crooked grin appearing on his lips. "Really, it means a lot."

Draco smiled and shrugged at that, not really seeing it as a big deal. He was convinced that Harry was doing his best, and that that probably was quite good. Sure, he had no way of actually knowing, but he was getting a good vibe from Harry, even after all these years, so it wasn't all that hard to make the assumption. "Don't mention it," he said, grinning warmly at Harry, and running a hand through his hair; trying not to get his rings stuck in the blond strands as he did. "Really though, don't let the parents get you down. They have no idea what they are talking about after all, and they should be thankful," he added, still smiling warmly. He started fiddling with the one of his rings, turning it on his finger. His eyes never leave Harry, still fascinated by how handsome he has become. Sure, Harry was always handsome, but he grew up really good, and Draco is thankful of that.

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it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free: pouring river water in your socks

Though Harry knew that Draco wasn't exactly wrong, then his words felt too bold for Harry to verbally agree, and he looked down at the other's hands. As the paternal figure in Teddy's life, Harry experienced both sides of the situation Draco described, and he couldn't find it in his heart to cuss out worried parents. Instead, Harry's eyes followed Draco's hands; first as they moved to his hair, and then back onto the table. Draco's little movements were mesmerising, and Harry was having a hard time focusing on anything else than Draco's fingers."Parents who are teachers themselves are worse, though," Harry finally managed to say in an exhale. Reluctantly, he managed to look away from Draco's hands; his breath got stuck in his throat when he looked up and met the other's gaze, realising that the other had been looking at him. A little grin eventually replaced the surprise on his features. "I should know."

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